Winter is gone, spring is coming. Now is the right time to prepare the garden for the approaching growing season. While the signs of other plants are quite easy to perceive, when it comes to lawns, the question always arises as to when the first lawn cut should be made. We explain when the right time has come to mow the lawn.
Table of Contents
The right time after winter
As is so often the case, it is not possible to state exactly when the first lawn cut can or even should be carried out after the winter. Instead, as a hobby gardener, you will hardly be able to avoid waiting for the right moment by observing several factors.
growth
Depending on the temperature and the position of the sun, lawns can also show a certain amount of growth over the winter. Please studiously ignore these “disruptions” to the hibernation and pay careful attention to when the lawn plants grow regularly and extensively in size again. Because only then is the rest phase finally over and a quick recovery from the strain of pruning is guaranteed:
- Flat growth throughout the lawn
- Steady increase in grass length without long-term growth pauses
- Minimum height reached 8 centimeters
weather
Actually, one should assume that the weather should no longer play a role in a conscientious observation of growth. Because the lawn only grows to a significant extent when the weather is suitable. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a look at the weather development. Is the growth-stimulating warm phase a premature, temporary herald of spring, or is winter actually over? A look at the information from the weather services helps to avoid cutting the lawn prematurely. Usually stable weather can be expected from the end of March or the beginning of April. However, significant differences can occur regionally and from year to year, so that weather observation is essential for the right time to mow the lawn.
If the cut is followed by persistent night frost, a first cut quickly becomes a stumbling block for plant development. The following weather conditions should therefore be present:
- Day temperatures at least in the upper single digits
- Nighttime temperatures with no risk of frost
floor
Typically, winter comes with a lot of moisture, which remains in the ground even after it has thawed. On the one hand, the existing moisture in connection with the onset of heat is good for rapid and intensive growth. On the other hand, too much water in the soil can quickly become a problem:
- If it is too wet, there is a risk of soil compaction by lawn mowers or even ride-on mowers
- Therefore: wait until the soil is damp but no longer wet
- Reduced hold of the lawn roots in the soil due to excessive moisture
- As a result: especially with blunt blades, there is a risk of individual plants being torn out when mowing
Tips and tricks for the first cut
To ensure that the first lawn cut is really successful, you should also pay attention to a few things:
- Do not choose a cutting height that is too short, so that enough leaf mass can supply the growth spurt with energy
- Ideal: around 5 centimeters remaining length of the stem (later cuts can be shorter without any problems)
- If the lawn is too high (e.g. due to persistent periods of moisture), mow in stages and do not walk on the lawn for 1 day between individual mowing operations to straighten the blades
- Do not mow when the sun is intense to avoid excessive drying out of the cutting edges
- Do not mow when it is raining, otherwise the wet stalks will stick and lie down
